09-07-2018, 08:30 PM
Can you know fear if you've already lost everything?
Oxytocin doesn't know the meaning of the word fear anymore. His children are grown and can care for themselves; the woman he once thought he loved is dead; the kingdom he cherished has been destroyed forever. He has nothing to fear aside from death, and death is proving to be a bit difficult to come by... he has lost the healthy sense of fear that is naturally instilled in all of them, and perhaps it is time for him to get that back.
He doesn't notice at first when the mark burrows into his rump, only continues along the path set before him (bringing him, unknowingly, towards the Dark God). It isn't until air becomes hard to draw in that he realizes something is wrong, and he works his jaw as he takes in each rattling breath, wondering why he can't fill his lungs. He reaches the shore with the rest of them, and trembles as he wonders if the magician is going to let them die here, inches from freedom. He can't take in a single breath anymore, and though the discomfort shows clearly on his face, he refuses to choke in front of any of them as Carnage speaks of Pangea.
He'd rather silently pass out before that happens.
Another mark--gravel this time--burrows into his skin, and if he had air in his lungs he would have cried out in surprise as it dug into his flesh. <i>"Go,"</i> He tells them, stepping aside to let them stumble towards the water, and Oxytocin lets go of his pride. He stumbles to the surf, splashing into the waves until the water rushes over his head and he can breathe again. The first gulp of oxygen into his lungs invigorates him, and he dives deeper into the waves, until he can no longer feel the sand beneath his hooves.
Eventually, even the light fades. Once or twice he feels a fish take a quick nip at his hocks, but for the most part his dive goes unmolested, thankfully. It just takes so <i>long</i>. His legs are screaming from exertion by the time his hooves bump against the underwater island. Is this it?
Oxytocin doesn't know the meaning of the word fear anymore. His children are grown and can care for themselves; the woman he once thought he loved is dead; the kingdom he cherished has been destroyed forever. He has nothing to fear aside from death, and death is proving to be a bit difficult to come by... he has lost the healthy sense of fear that is naturally instilled in all of them, and perhaps it is time for him to get that back.
He doesn't notice at first when the mark burrows into his rump, only continues along the path set before him (bringing him, unknowingly, towards the Dark God). It isn't until air becomes hard to draw in that he realizes something is wrong, and he works his jaw as he takes in each rattling breath, wondering why he can't fill his lungs. He reaches the shore with the rest of them, and trembles as he wonders if the magician is going to let them die here, inches from freedom. He can't take in a single breath anymore, and though the discomfort shows clearly on his face, he refuses to choke in front of any of them as Carnage speaks of Pangea.
He'd rather silently pass out before that happens.
Another mark--gravel this time--burrows into his skin, and if he had air in his lungs he would have cried out in surprise as it dug into his flesh. <i>"Go,"</i> He tells them, stepping aside to let them stumble towards the water, and Oxytocin lets go of his pride. He stumbles to the surf, splashing into the waves until the water rushes over his head and he can breathe again. The first gulp of oxygen into his lungs invigorates him, and he dives deeper into the waves, until he can no longer feel the sand beneath his hooves.
Eventually, even the light fades. Once or twice he feels a fish take a quick nip at his hocks, but for the most part his dive goes unmolested, thankfully. It just takes so <i>long</i>. His legs are screaming from exertion by the time his hooves bump against the underwater island. Is this it?